Who funds astrophysics research?

We count 151 funded astrophysics projects, active between 2020 and 2032, from 5 funders. The most came from EU · ERC (61 projects), NSF · MPS (31 projects) and EU · MSCA (26 projects). The median award is $1.3M, across the 147 of 151 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

151

Funders

5

Median award

$1.3M

Open calls now

5

Top funders of astrophysics research

Projects whose title or summary mentions astrophysics. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open astrophysics funding calls

5 open calls mention astrophysics today.

• ROSES 2025: D.4 Theoretical and Computational Astrophysics Networks
  NASA HeadquartersNot specifiedDeadline: December 3, 2026 ·
• NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships (AAPF)
  U.S. National Science FoundationUp to $110,000Deadline: October 15, 2027 ·
  Real odds: About 1 in 6 funded (18% · NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST), all proposals, FY2024)
• NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP)
  Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) for NASANot specifiedDeadline: October 28, 2026 ·
• Lasker Fellowship
  Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) for NASANot specifiedDeadline: October 29, 2026 ·
• Brinson Prize Fellowships
  Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) for NASANot specifiedDeadline: November 5, 2026 ·

Real odds

• About 1 in 6 funded · 18% · NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST), all proposals, FY2024 · NSF funding rates (directorate page)

Published success rates for the programs behind the open calls above: the share of applications the funder funded, program-wide, not for this topic.

Funded astrophysics projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• TRANSCEND: Cosmology and astrophysics from a census of the transient Universe
  UKRI · STFC · £3,889,891 · ends 2032
• CAREER: Algorithm-Hardware Cross-Layer Design for High-Performance Scientific Data Compression
  NSF · CISE · $595,928 · ends 2031
• Astrophysics and cosmology from CMB scattering
  UKRI · STFC · £826,721 · ends 2031
• South East Particle Physics Allicance (SEPTA)
  UKRI · STFC · £388,080 · ends 2030
• Tidal Disruption Events: A New Black Hole Census
  EU · ERC · €1,998,750 · ends 2030
• Taking galactic archaeology beyond the near field
  UKRI · UKRI FLF · £599,541 · ends 2029
• Astrophysics at Scale: Transforming and Evaluating Undergraduate Education through Virtual and Desktop Environments
  NSF · EDU · $1,858,739 · ends 2029
• Frameworks: An Ecosystem of Services for Multi-Messenger and Time Domain Science
  NSF · CISE · $1,352,523 · ends 2029
• Probing clumpy star formation using Euclid observations and cosmic simulations
  UKRI · £457,140 · ends 2029
• Investigating the wave-driven physics of sunspots using novel balloon observations
  UKRI · £433,670 · ends 2029

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “astrophysics”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.